Why Gulf Diners Are Eating Differently This Year
Boycotts, tighter budgets and a longer war are reshaping where GCC consumers eat, and Western fast food chains are the ones feeling it hardest.
Sep 10, 2024

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17 stories for“gulf retail”
Boycotts, tighter budgets and a longer war are reshaping where GCC consumers eat, and Western fast food chains are the ones feeling it hardest.
Sep 10, 2024

One widely cited figure puts the category at 86 billion dollars. Another puts it at 254 billion. The gap is not a rounding error, it is a disagreement about what modest fashion actually is.
Aug 16, 2026

Bain puts the shrinkage in the Gulf's luxury customer base at 15 to 25 per cent in early 2026 while the Americas surged. The industry's answer to losing aspirational buyers has been to stop trying to keep them.
Aug 18, 2026

Dirham-pegged tokens are now licensed for retail payments across the UAE, part of a regulatory push that is reshaping remittances across the Gulf.
Mar 11, 2025

Home fragrance in the Emirates is not a wellness import. It sits on top of a bakhoor and oud culture that was already there, which is why a crowded market keeps making room for small local labels.
Sep 5, 2026

Houthi attacks on shipping have rerouted global trade around Africa, and Gulf importers are absorbing the fallout in freight rates and delivery times.
Feb 5, 2024

A new Dubai home goods label turns kitchen storage and candles into display-worthy objects, betting that everyday clutter deserves better design.
Jun 24, 2026

Non-oil activity reached 79.4 percent of national output in the first quarter, growing at 4.8 percent while the overall economy grew 3. The gap between those figures is the story.
Aug 6, 2026

A risk-off session in Dubai and Abu Dhabi shows how conflict, oil, aviation and investor confidence can move Gulf markets in different directions at once.
Jul 24, 2026

Early in the conflict the projections ran to 150 dollar oil and contracting Gulf economies. Halfway through August the numbers are less dramatic and more interesting than either the panic or the relief.
Aug 16, 2026

Crude shipments through the Gulf have recovered sharply, yet refineries and fuel supply remain constrained. That gap explains why cheaper oil may not quickly reach consumers.
Jul 31, 2026

UN Tourism has global arrivals up two per cent in the first quarter and Middle East arrivals down fourteen. Bahrain lost more than a quarter of its visitors. Egypt, three hours away, gained sixteen per cent.
Aug 26, 2026

After two years of shocks, Gulf dining is rebuilding around homegrown brands and confident local concepts rather than imported franchise names.
May 19, 2026

Once niche, modest fashion is now a USD 295 billion market, and the GCC's influence is reshaping global style. Major luxury brands are paying attention.
Jul 30, 2024

Seventy shows across six days, spring collections shown in autumn, and a designer taking over a house whose founder's name is still on the door. The September calendar is set.
Aug 16, 2026

Note the direction. Markets are not arguing about how fast the Federal Reserve cuts. They are pricing the probability that it raises, and gold has just had its best month since January.
Aug 21, 2026

Bitcoin hit a record near $126,000, stablecoins topped $290 billion, and then Q4 delivered the sharpest reset in years. Here is what actually happened.
Jan 6, 2026
